MPs heard criticism of optometrists and GPs this week for not giving urgent referrals to patients with wet age-related macular degeneration.
The criticism was part of 'shocking' new data which revealed that thousands of patients were missing out on sight-saving treatment.
AMD is the UK's leading cause of blindness in the over-50s. The research has suggested that many sufferers are being left in a Health Service no-man's land rather receive the treatment they should be getting.
Charities the RNIB and Macular Disease Society handed the paper 'Playing games with patients' sight' to MPs at the House of Commons on Tuesday (November 15).
They found that despite approval two years ago from NICE - the organisation responsible for providing national guidance on health - thousands of sufferers were still not receiving the endorsed photodynamic therapy.
Tom Bremridge, MDS chief executive, said: 'The data is shocking. Up to 3,000 patients a year are clearly missing out on the opportunity of a sight-saving treatment. It is clear that many are arriving far too late to have any chance of benefiting.
'This is due to a number of reasons, the key ones being that patients are not receiving an urgent referral from their GP or optometrist. Once in the hospital system, patients are being bounced around between general ophthalmologists, none of whom are able to treat them.'
Getting referred to the correct doctor is 'like a game of Monopoly' the charities told MPs, with patients discovering there were many chances of being held up on the way. Fast-track referrals are vital to ensure patients get the best results.
'The data clearly show that over a third of patients who seek help are referred to a general ophthalmologist for a second and, in some cases, a third opinion before they eventually reach a specialist doctor able to treat them,' said Bremridge. 'Incredibly, some patients were in the system for six months and still never reached a specialist.
'We need GPs and optometrists to refer urgently and directly to a specialist and for hospitals to be aware of where to send patients for treatment.'
ACTION NEEDED
- Optometrists must be allowed to send patients directly to an ophthalmologist
- DoH to agree a policy on remuneration for optometrists diagnosing and referring to ophthalmologists, and not leave it to be worked out locally
- Specialist retinal clinics, general hospital ophthalmologists and optometrists must be brought together by commissioners to work out whether optometrist referral can be direct to the specialist retinal clinic or whether a useful role can be played by general hospitals without causing harmful delays
- In some areas, joint training sessions with optometrists and ophthalmologists have worked to establish more accurate diagnosis, trust and a more efficient system. However, this co-operation is rare and needs to be replicated everywhere